Toulouse (France) (AFP) – European aircraft maker Airbus said Thursday net profits rose in 2024 as it boosted plane deliveries and set a goal of accelerating them further. Net profit rose 12 percent to 4.2 billion euros ($4.4 billion), overcoming a massive writedown in the value of its space business earlier in the year. The results demonstrate the growing dominance of Airbus over its rival Boeing, which posted a massive $11.8 billion loss for 2024, hobbled by a lengthy labour strike, major safety issues on commercial planes, and defence contract cost overruns. Airbus shares fell 1.8 percent in morning trading in Paris.
Airbus’s commercial aircraft deliveries rose by 4.2 percent to 766, helping revenues climb by six percent to 69.2 billion euros. Deliveries are an important indicator as airlines pay for aircraft when they receive them. Boeing was only able to deliver 348 aircraft in 2024 as strikes and safety reviews hit production. Airbus and its suppliers have struggled to scale production back up after cutting staff and output during the Covid-19 pandemic that nearly shut down international air travel. They both have huge order backlogs as airlines have placed orders for the latest fuel-saving aircraft that offer lower operating costs.
Net orders tumbled from a bumper year in 2023, falling from 2,094 to 826, but the company noted they still surpassed deliveries. “We achieved strong order intake across all businesses in 2024, with a book-to-bill well above 1, confirming the solid demand for our products and services,” chief executive Guillaume Faury said in a statement. “We delivered on our 2024 guidance in what was a testing year for Airbus,” he added, noting the transformation of its space business.
Airbus announced in June it had decided to make a roughly 900-million-euro charge against first-half earnings after an extensive review of its space business. That chopped first-half earnings to 825 million euros. It subsequently announced more than 2,000 job cuts as demand for its telecommunications satellites falls. But Airbus’s Defense and Space division booked a record 16.7 billion euros in sales in 2024, thanks in part to Spain ordering an additional 25 Eurofighter aircraft.
Airbus said it is targeting a seven percent increase in deliveries for 2025 to 820 aircraft. But it said that is based upon “no additional disruptions to global trade or the world economy, air traffic, the supply chain, the Company’s internal operations, and its ability to deliver products and services.” The outlook does not include any potential tariffs on its activities.
Boeing’s troubles mean Airbus is set to expand its market share. If the two have shared the market for medium and long-range commercial aircraft roughly 50-50 until now, Airbus is set to expand its share to 58 percent by the end of the decade, according to the Roland Berger consultancy. Boeing will see its share slip to 39 percent and China’s Comac will take three percent. But Boeing’s troubles have also complicated business operations for Airbus. The two share a certain number of suppliers which have been buffeted by Boeing’s production halts. Boeing bought in July Spirit AeroSystems, a manufacturer of fuselage and wing sections, as it sought to improve quality control by bringing more production back in house. That forced Airbus to buy Spirit AeroSystems’s activities dedicating to supply its aircraft.
© 2024 AFP
